


Walk the Wire

by puncturedhearts



Series: Walk the Wire [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: M/M, Massage, Touch-Starved, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:35:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21911542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/puncturedhearts/pseuds/puncturedhearts
Summary: Before he knew it, Qrow was in front of one of the training rooms. The sign by the door told him that it wasn’t reserved until a few hours from now and was open. He wasn’t dressed to do any proper training, still in his sleep pants and loose top, but Qrow entered the room anyway, something drawing him in. It wasn’t long before he saw why.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Series: Walk the Wire [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1579300
Comments: 18
Kudos: 213





	Walk the Wire

**Author's Note:**

> Very new to the RWBY fandom so please excuse and correct any mistakes in lore/terms/accuracy. Binged all 6 seasons while I was sick at the start of December. The moment Clover came on screen I was like fuuuuu... and this fluffy wholesome ship got the better of me.

Qrow leapt upward with a dry gasp, fingers fumbling for a weapon he knew was always close at hand. His fingers circled around the familiar grip and he had it out in front of him in a defensive position before his brain had time to process the situation. Before he remembered where he was.

Qrow grimaced, letting out a soft groan. He ached. There was sweat pooling at the back of his neck and a headache forming behind his eyes. Bedsheets were pooled around his waist, leaving his chest vulnerable to the cool air of his room.

He reluctantly released Harbringer, letting it rest on his his lap as he brought his hand to his neck to wipe away some of the moisture that had built up there and to try and massage some of the tension that had built up. Qrow wiped his now wet hand on his damp sheets with disgust before ripping off the sheets entirely. Besides, he was far too restless now to go back to sleep.

He shifted on his bed so that his legs were off the side and his feet were brushing the cool floor. His toes curled in protest, and part of him was desperately telling him to curl back into bed, but Qrow was on his feet and walking towards the door before he could think better of it. He needed a drink.

He slipped on a loose shirt on autopilot before he jerked the door open, a bit louder than he had intended. The dim light of the hallway assaulted his eyes and with an annoyed grunt, he moved to block the offending light, his eyes narrowing. Qrow closed his door behind him, notably softer this time, and made his way down the hallway. His room was a bit of a bitch to get to, not even remotely close to where the kids had been holed up. He figured he should be grateful though, all too aware of how loud those kids could get when they put their minds to it. Being this far from them meant that there was little risk to running into one of them on his nighttime excursion. The last thing he needed right now was one of the kids seeing him like this, he didn’t have the energy to put on a happy face.

Qrow passed the doors to the shared bathrooms and stumbled to a stop. He made his way inside and was relieved to find it empty. He didn’t need anyone else to see him like this right now either. Especially not… An image of kind eyes flashed before him before he could stop it. Shaking his head with a grunt, Qrow turned the tap on and let the water cool before sticking his head under, gulping down the water with a desperation that he was too thirsty to be embarrassed of.

Once he had his fill, his mouth still dry despite it all, Qrow made his way back into the hallway and was unsurprised to see it still empty. It had to be three or four in the morning at this point. Maybe five if he was being generous. Most people, even the early birds, were still in their beds. It wouldn’t be long though, before the halls started filling up and teams made their way to the training rooms. 

_His thoughts unconsciously and unwillingly drifted back to green eyes._

Qrow quickened his pace, only now just coming to the conclusion that he didn’t have a destination in mind when he left his bedroom. When he had initially gotten up, the only thing on his mind had been getting a drink, but now that he was more awake, Qrow forced himself to think of anything but. He’d been, shockingly, doing quite well up to this point. He ached with the desire every day, but he hadn’t acted on it for some time now. Some of that was thanks to the training regime that he’d been placed on, the missions, and the bright green eyes that followed his movements, even during downtime. Qrow shivered a bit, remembering the night before; the heat of those eyes had been on him, despite sitting at sides of the rec room, the both of them talking to different people. He didn’t dare admit even to himself that he had enjoyed the way the eyes had tracked him as he spent time his own time with the girls…

Before he knew it, Qrow was in front of one of the training rooms. The sign by the door told him that it wasn’t reserved until a few hours from now and was open. He wasn’t dressed to do any proper training, still in his sleep pants and loose top, but Qrow entered the room anyway, something drawing him in. It wasn’t long before he saw why.

“Shouldn’t you be in bed?” He called out softly, his voice even raspier than usual, gaze lazily drifting over the form moving throughout the room with a grace that Qrow’s eyes couldn’t help but tracking hungrily. He almost hoped that he wouldn’t be heard, and he’d have the chance to watch a bit longer. He leaned against the wall by the door, watching the movements drift closer towards him before they slowed and green eyes met his. Qrow almost couldn’t reign in the shiver that they’d caused.

 _You’re an idiot,_ Qrow thought to himself. Annoyed at the way his heart fluttered at the simple sight of the leader ace-ops.

“I could be asking you the same,” Clover tilted his head, eyes open and expressive, as they always were. He didn’t even look out of breath, despite the show of athletic ability. He looked like he often did, incredibly put together and unaffected by the time of day. Qrow might have resented him for that, but instead his eyes casually, but greedily, took the sight in. He wasn’t oblivious to his body’s reaction to Clover, and while didn’t intend to act on it, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t look. He just had to remember to look away.

Okay… so maybe he should look a bit less, if the returning gazes Clover sent his way were any indication, but he couldn’t help himself.

Qrow shrugged, hands deep in his pockets, eyes drifting away in fear that his lingering gaze was a bit too obvious. “Couldn’t sleep.” He admitted, “Figured a walk was better than tossing and turning for another hour.”

“And you just happened to stumble upon the training room that I was using?” Clover’s brow rose, a light smirk gracing his face.

Qrow flushed, his neck heating up at the searing gaze. It was way too early for this, his defenses against pretty green eyes too weak at this hour. He hadn’t had time to build up his tolerance.

“Coincidence, I guess.” Qrow fumbled for an explanation without it sounding weird. _Something_ had woken him up, drawn him to this room at this early hour. He would be lying to himself if he didn’t admit that he was glad to have come across the leader of the ace-ops.

“Lucky me,” Clover laughed easily, hand coming up to touch Qrow’s shoulder briefly in casual greeting before his hand fell away, finger tips grazing him on their way down. “Well, I was just about finished, myself. How about we take those restless legs to get some breakfast?” 

\-----

Qrow found himself seated on a couch in one of the rec rooms with coffee in one hand, the other resting closer than he’d like to admit to where Clover was seated, drinking his tea. They had reached a comfortable silence between them, warm drinks almost empty. Clover was resting his arm over the back of the couch, his hand resting comfortably close to Qrow’s head.

At this point, they’d gone through most of the acceptable small talk and Qrow was struggling to think of something he could safely bring up without turning things awkward, as he often managed to do. His mouth hurt from trying to restrain his smile, Clover’s quick wit getting the better of him more times than he could count. Everything he said left Qrow feeling flustered in a way he wasn’t used to. In a way he was used to causing in others. 

“You up for a game?” Clover tilted his head over to the table where a deck of cards had been left.

“What, didn’t kick my ass enough the other day?” Qrow snorted, turning his head to look at Clover with a teasing glance. Or, it had meant to be a teasing glance, but instead his face twisted into a grimace as his neck protested, the muscles tight and tense.

Clover had turned his head towards him just in time to see the expression of pain, his mouth open to retort before changing track. “Are you okay?” He asked, concern written clearly across his face. His hand fluttered towards Qrow, but Qrow had moved back instinctively. A hurt look might have crossed Clover’s face, but it was gone before he could be certain, and yet, Qrow flinched inward, guilt broiling in his stomach for reasons unknow to him. 

“It’s nothing…” He rasped, rubbing at his neck both out of discomfort and pain. “I just have a bit of a crick in my neck…”

“I can help you with that.”

Qrow’s eyes snapped to meet Clover’s, surprise flitting across his face. “What?”

“Turn around,” Clover said, displaying a confidence that Qrow could only admire as he shifted on the couch so that he was facing Qrow fully.

Qrow’s mouth went dry and their eyes locked in a battle of wills, Qrow desperately trying to come up with an excuse to avoid this and Clover’s clear insistence that it was about to happen.

\-----

“I genuinely enjoyed playing with you,” Clover said softly, continuing the conversation they’d been having before this mess started, as if Qrow wasn’t currently melting beneath his hands. “and hey… you almost won once or twice.”

“Almost…” Qrow snorted. “Playing against you is like fighting an uphill battle.” _Pointless, in more ways than one._

He sighed, shivering at the way Clover’s strong fingers dug into a particularly tight spot. He should pull away now, he should be putting up his walls and going separate ways from Clover. He should _not_ be sinking towards the warmth of Clover sitting close behind him, his knees just brushing Qrow’s back as they rested up on the couch. He should also _not_ be letting out a soft moan as the fingers started brushing up towards his hair line, brushing softer and turning into more of a caress. Qrow tensed, embarrassed at the noise that just escaped him, but the fingers moved further into his hair, eliciting repressed whimper from the huntsman, before trailing back down and continuing their work at his tense muscles, leaving Qrow to groan embarrassingly at the sensation.

“Was playing with me so bad?” Clover asked, his voice dipping. Qrow could feel the ace-op’s breath on the back of his neck, the heat coming from behind him suddenly feeling more intense. Had Clover shifted closer? Qrow couldn’t tell, but he wasn’t happy about the way his body was responding to the heat behind him. His back involuntarily arched slightly as he felt the hands move further up until they were resting in his hair, rubbing calming circles. Nails scratched against his scalp and Qrow couldn’t repress the whimper this time. Much to Qrow’s disappointment, and relief, the hands drifted down again and began their work at the tense muscles once more.

Qrow let out a breath, his head tilting towards the ceiling in silent frustration to the way his body was betraying him through the sounds he was making. He would much rather Clover _didn’t_ know just how much this was affecting him. He stared at the lines in the ceiling tiles for just a moment before his head was gently pushed back down, further than it had been before. The muscles in his neck tensed before relaxing again. Clover’s hand had encased his neck and for a flash, Qrow thought he was about to be pushed down onto the couch face first, which excited him a bit too much for his liking, but instead, Clover chuckled. “I can’t reach you neck if you’re staring at the ceiling.” He said softly, thumb drifting lazily up and down. 

“…Right.” Qrow said awkwardly, wincing at his awkwardness.

Qrow’s thoughts drifted, giving into the relaxing massage and the droop of his eye lids as he prayed to the gods that he wasn’t blushing. He and Clover had started taking missions together, the two of them falling into an easy partnership. Qrow found that he looked forward to each day, wondering what missions Clover would pick out for them. As much as he liked being around the kids, the girls in particular, it was a nice change of pace to be around someone more his own age. Even if he was a bit of a pain sometimes. A pain that contradicted ever gripe and self wallowing session that Qrow threatened to fall into. Sometimes the two of them spent more time laughing and teasing each other on their missions together than Qrow had laughed in the last few years combined. He didn’t dare let himself consider it flirting… he couldn’t with Clover’s quick fingers working away at his tension.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

Qrow jumped in shock, his thoughts scattering.

“Uh…” _What had been the question again?..._

“Hey Qrow, Clover!”

Qrow immediately pulled away from Clover, guilt pooling in his stomach. Clover’s hand stayed attached to his neck for a few moments, insistent, but Qrow managed to shake it off before turning to the speaker. “Hey,” he rasped, heat flushing to his face. It was Marrow.

The Faunus was standing at the entrance to the rec room, grinning at them. “Training is about to start, you coming?”

Qrow immediately jumped to his feet. He thought he may have heard Clover sigh, but with the blood rushing in his ears, Qrow couldn’t be sure. “Yeah,” He said quickly, putting space between him and the leader of the ace-ops. “On our way. I gotta…” He quickly glanced behind him, heart jumping in his throat at the heady gaze Clover was sending his way…. “Gotta get changed…” he mumbled, breaking eye contact and making his escape.

\-----

Clover sighed as he watched Qrow flee. He turned to Marrow and raised his brow, but the Faunus was oblivious, moving towards the kitchenette to get himself something to eat, his tail wagging softly as he went.

_Just as he thought he’d been making some good progress…_

Clover slipped out of the rec room in time to see Qrow disappear around the corner towards his room. Today was going to be an interesting training session, to say the least. Maybe he’d be able to convince Qrow to join him for another game of cards once their duties were done for the day if he was lucky. They were back to taking another mission tomorrow, which meant more time alone but more opportunities for the elusive huntsman to avoid his questions and gaze. He couldn’t avoid it forever though.

Clove smiled to himself before making his way back to the training rooms to start his day. This morning had put a hope in his heart that he hadn’t let himself feel up until now. A hope for something more.

**Author's Note:**

> Ummm... so that's that. I haven't written fanfiction since 2015 so I encourage constructive feedback in terms of story flow, dialogue, pacing, word choice etc etc. Nit pick me so I can improve. Also I SUCK at keeping tenses the same throughout a story so PLEASE, if you notice me fluctuating between them point it out so I can improve at it. 
> 
> Fully intend to write more in this ship so feel free to send me any ideas if you liked this. I have another idea and I have a Hogwarts AU in mind (because it's my bread and butter and I am incapable of writing anything but Hogwarts AUs) so if you're interested in that please let me know.


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